Emirati authorities have seized the assets of Al-Baraka, one of two leading financial networks US President George W. Bush has named in the drive against global terrorism, the official WAM news agency reported Wednesday, November 7.

UAE and US authorities "have seized the assets of the Al-Baraka firm, as well as the accounts and assets of a certain number of companies and individuals linked to terrorist organizations, including Al-Qaeda," a finance ministry spokesman was quoted as saying.

In Washington, Bush named Al-Baraka and Al-Taqwas as the leading financial networks whose assets were frozen as part of a US-led drive against global terrorism. He said Al-Taqwa and Al-Baraka raised funds for the Al-Qaeda terrorist network, which the US government blames for the September 11 attacks on the United States, and even arranged for the shipment of weapons.

The organizations are Islamic money exchange networks, known as Hawalas, which have offices in the United States. They essentially operate as unlicensed banks. — (AFP, Abu Dhabi)